Having spent almost 25 years sourcing and recruiting talent to six companies across four industries, you can say I’ve interacted with A LOT of candidates in my career and you wouldn’t be lying. If you add on the years of career coaching I’ve done (even before I officially launched my business), I can confidently say I’ve worked with thousands of people! It’s been a great experience, and I’ve learned so much about career planning and development and conducting a job search simply by observing and listening to other people.
But, in all of the recruiting I did, even at the end I remained mystified at how some people had absolutely no idea about how to conduct a job search. The things people have said to me (Me: “If I met your boss and asked him/her about an area you need to improve in, what would (s)he say?” Candidate: “Probably that I’m not a very hard worker.”) and the things they’ve done (brought a GUN to my interview and told me about it, put his feet on my desk) have left me flabbergasted at times.
Some may not believe this but, at its core, a good job search only requires candidates to do one thing – act like a candidate, but think like a recruiter (employer). Put yourself in their shoes and consider, under their circumstances, what you would want if you were doing the hiring – that’s it!
To help you appreciate what I’m saying, let me share an analogy I’ve used in many talks:
I’m not sure when, but many, many years ago, man discovered that duck was a great source of food. Once this was discovered, they decided to go out and catch some ducks. So, they banned together and began yelling and running after the flock of ducks they saw resting along the edge of the lake.
What do you think the ducks did?
You’re correct, they flew away, leaving the hunters tired and frustrated. For over a week, they went back to this lake everyday and attempted to catch their new favorite dish with the same approach, but failed each time.
Finally, the observing elder hunter who had since retired and been promoted to “Supervisor of the Duck Hunters” opened his mouth to speak to the hunters.
“You know, I’ve been watching the ducks and watching you for a week and here’s what I’ve noticed. When the ducks make that funny sound to each other, instead of flying off, they actually walk or swim closer to each other. But, when you scream at them or begin to chase them from back here, they fly off. Why don’t you try making the sound they make to each other and apparently like, and see if that will bring them closer to you to make it easier for catching,” said the Supervisor of the Duck Hunters.
So, what in the world does this have to do with conducting an effective job search? Everything!
Too many times, candidates are focused on being a candidate and approach their job search like a candidate. They try to share EVERYTHING they’ve ever done in life with an employer who is really only interested in what’s relevant to the job they’re trying to fill. When a recruiter tells them, “Give me up to two weeks….,” they call back in three days. They fail to send a thank you e-mail, letter, card after an interview. Their attire is completely inappropriate for a job search and the job they are pursuing. They reach out to recruiters asking them to do everything for them while the recruiter has absolutely no idea who they are or why they should help. They don’t prepare for the interview (can’t answer basic interview questions) leaving the recruiter to feel like they’ve just wasted their time.
Are you starting to get the picture?
If you stop and consider the demands on a recruiter’s time, the volume they must confront in their work (number of jobs they must fill, meetings, e-mails, voice mails, scheduling interviews, conducting interviews, background checks, reference checks, etc.), how many people are pulling at them, what THEY might be looking for in the top candidate (hard and soft skills), this might help you start to understand and make the sounds they like to hear and draw them closer to you.
Once you draw them in, BANG!
Until next time….